16

18

Minho let out a deep exhale as he dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out as he stood outside the door of his home. Tonight was the night he was going to tell his mother that he was not going to go to high school. His graduation from middle school was just yesterday, but his mother was already discussing her plans to enroll him in the local high school, so, he had to tell her about his plans to move to Seoul. He his lips slowly and opened the door, walking inside and slipping off his shoes.

“Mom?” he called out, walking further inside and seeing her at the stove, stirring something in a pot.

“Ah, you’re finally home, I was warming up your food. Sit down,” she said before turning her attention back to the pot. Minho his lips nervously and slowly sat down in a chair, resting his hands on the table and drumming his fingers nervously.

“...Can we talk?”

“Of course, what is it?” she asked as she spooned the food out into plates and bowls. Minho took a deep breath and his lips yet again before finally speaking.

“First..I’m not going to high school...” He looked up and saw that his mother was staring at him with wide eyes, so he decided to continue before she began to yell at him, “Jiho, Hyuk, and I want to move to Seoul and start a career with rapping. We think-”

“Are you kidding me?!” Song Minho, you are going to high school and that’s final!”

“I’m not required to!”

“Well no, but no son of mine is going to go through life with a middle school education!” his mother snapped back, “What kind of life will you have with just that?!”

“I’m gonna be involved in music!” Minho replied, “And I can go back to school whenever I want, it’s just better to get involved in these things from a young age!”

“I cannot believe this.” The woman sat down in a chair with a shake of her head, resting her palm against her forehead. “If your father was alive, I know you would never be suggesting something as foolish as this. This is because of that Jiho, I knew he was a bad influence on you...”

“It’s not because of Jiho or because dad is dead, this is my dream!”

“Well, it’s foolish!” his mother shouted, startling him. He had never seen her so upset before. “You are going to go to high school, then you are going to university and you will make something of yourself!”

“But-”

“No buts! You will stay here and go to school, and if you refuse, then you are no longer allowed to carry your father’s surname!” Dead silence fell over them as Minho stared at her, his heart breaking at his mother’s harsh words but not allowing his face to show it. It hurt him that she would say something like that and not even try to listen and help support his dream.

“...If that’s how you feel then,” he said quietly before standing up and walking to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. The woman sighed, believing that her tough love had won until the door opened again and Minho appeared with a small duffle bag in his hands. He said nothing as he walked straight to the front door and put on his shoes again, swinging the door open and turning slightly to look at him.

“Then I won’t carry his name.” With that, he walked out of the home, ignoring his mother shouting his name. He stepped out into the pouring rain and walked down the sidewalk, adrenaline pumping as he made his way to the subway station. He had done it, he actually did it. He was going to follow his dreams no matter what his mother or anyone else thought. Was she right that he was only doing this because his father was gone? Maybe, but with his father dying, it only showed Minho that he needed to do all he could to live the life he wanted before it was taken away from him.

He entered the subway station and bought a ticket before making his way over to a bench and sitting down as he waited for the next train, which would be arriving in two hours. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number, shivering from his soaked clothing but his adrenaline still pumping. He awaited an answer and smiled when he heard Jiho finally answer.

“I did it. I told my mom and she was ing livid but I told her. And she told me if I did it, I couldn’t be a Song anymore so...so I left. I’m at the subway station right now...”

“Dude...dude! I’ll call Hyuk, we’ll be there as soon as possible!” With that, Jiho hung up and Minho laughed a little to himself. He couldn’t believe they were doing this, but he didn’t regret it whatsoever. Sure enough, an hour later a soaking wet Jiho and Hyuk came running towards Minho with their own train tickets in hand. The three teenagers spoke excitedly as they all couldn’t believe they were actually going to be in Seoul by the morning.

“Minho!” a familiar voice called, catching Minho’s attention. He looked and saw Joohyun walking down the steps, pushing back the soaked hood of her raincoat.

“Joohyun?” Furrowing his eyebrows, he walked over and met her at the bottom of the steps. He flinched when she suddenly slapped him upside his head.

“What the heck, Minho?! Your mom called mine in hysterics because you stormed out an hour ago and she had no clue where you went! What’s going on?”

Minho frowned a little and rubbed the place where Joohyun slapped him, “I’m going to Seoul. Jiho, Hyuk, and I are gonna start up rap careers.”

“Minho...” Joohyun sighed as she folded her arms across her chest, “You’re 16 with just a middle school diploma. You can’t get an apartment, you can barely get a job. What are you gonna do in Seoul?!”

“We got that all settled! This guy named Kwon Jiyong found our music online and wants to work with us! He already has a place for us to stay!”

“Minho, oh my God! This is such a dumb idea, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into! What if Jiyong is a 67 year old e who preys on you guys? What if it’s all a hoax? What if-”

“God, I knew you wouldn’t understand...” Minho scoffed as he sat down on the bench. Joohyun stared at him curiously with furrowed eyebrows and walked towards him, sitting next to him.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re...Bae Joohyun. You’re perfect. You have everything planned out for yourself, you’ll be graduating soon and...what do you want to be?”

“An art curator.”

“You see?” he turned to face her, “You answered it like that! What if I told you that you couldn’t be an art curator?”

“I’d tell you to shut up and I’d go for it anyway,” the young woman replied with a grin, Minho’s matching hers.

“Yeah, because it’s your dream. My dream is-”

“I get it,” Joohyun sighed and looked down at her hands briefly before looking at him with a small sad smile, “You’re right. I’m sorry I put it down, it’s your dream and even if I don’t support you going about it this way, I definitely respect your dream. I’ll just...really miss you...” She looked down again to hide her tears, though Minho could tell in her voice that she was really upset.

“...Joohyun...” he laughed a little to lighten the mood, “I’ll just be in Seoul! It’s just a...three hour bus ride to Daegu!”

“Minho,” she sighed and looked up at him, wiping away her tears and smiling a little, “I got a scholarship to NYU, I’ll be going to New York shortly after I graduate from high school.” And once again, Joohyun managed to make Minho’s heart drop with just a few words. He never expected to not be near her in some form, he had grown up with her a drive away and thought it would be the same. The idea of her being gone...in a different country...it made his chest tight.

“Joohyun...”

“Hey, Minho! The train is here!” Hyuk announced. Joohyun stood up and smiled as Minho stood up as well, the young male suddenly towering over her. She reached up to cup his face in her hands and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Goodbye, Minho.” She nodded her head slightly with a smile before stepping aside and walking up the steps, Minho watching as she soon disappeared from his sight.

“Minho!” Jiho shouted from the train. Minho grabbed his bag and ran onto the train, watching as the doors closed and the train began to move. His friends spoke excitedly amongst themselves but Minho’s mind was on Joohyun and the pain he felt in his chest. He slowly began to wonder...was all this really going to be worth it?

A/N: Definitely one of my favorite chapters! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments are greatly appreciated!